shah82 wrote:That tea sells for how much acceptable tea costs, more or less. Remember, we live in the days where a brand new 7542 is $30. Particularly if it's made from Banna leaves. I'd say it's actually a nice buy at it's current price if you like the taste.

It's pretty ridiculous that this is what's acceptable for $50. I don't think it has the strength or aspects to age well past another 5-10 years although it is a good drink now tea. I'm going on a puerh buying hiatus unless there is some amazing deal. Hopefully in a couple years we'll have another bubble burst. Or it might not be a bubble and good new puerh may start costing dollars per gram. Who knows

I think it's better to find tea worthy buying, and paying what you need to pay to have it. It encourages good discipline, and means that you eventually will have a large stash to tea really worth drinking, even if you have to buy only a cake or two a year. Drink shu or crappy new sheng for the day to day needs, until you really have a stash.

I say this because the fundamental nature of the bubble is thus: Getting people to pay for crappy stuff rather than good stuff. A crash is merely a realization of adverse circumstance or quality in an abrupt manner. While everyone imagines that they'd be the brave one buying while other people are afraid and want to sell, it's pretty hard to be in the position to buy, and with courage, nonetheless. What I'm really getting to, is that the only chances you'll get to buy known good tea is effectively when people have to sell for personal reasons. Because if and when puerh tea prices crash, it will almost certainly be because of a decline in tea's ability to act as a store of value (purpose of big brands like Dayi, Fujin, etc). Decent factory tea should be available at some point, but *good* tea is merely going to pass further into "only rich people with connections can get" land. So keep your eyes open, and your wallet wider open. They'll be chances to waste money on expensive teas of marginal quality, but you should make every effort to grab the good stuff as it appears...

I think it's better to find tea worthy buying, and paying what you need to pay to have it. It encourages good discipline, and means that you eventually will have a large stash to tea really worth drinking, even if you have to buy only a cake or two a year. Drink shu or crappy new sheng for the day to day needs, until you really have a stash.

I say this because the fundamental nature of the bubble is thus: Getting people to pay for crappy stuff rather than good stuff. A crash is merely a realization of adverse circumstance or quality in an abrupt manner. While everyone imagines that they'd be the brave one buying while other people are afraid and want to sell, it's pretty hard to be in the position to buy, and with courage, nonetheless. What I'm really getting to, is that the only chances you'll get to buy known good tea is effectively when people have to sell for personal reasons. Because if and when puerh tea prices crash, it will almost certainly be because of a decline in tea's ability to act as a store of value (purpose of big brands like Dayi, Fujin, etc). Decent factory tea should be available at some point, but *good* tea is merely going to pass further into "only rich people with connections can get" land. So keep your eyes open, and your wallet wider open. They'll be chances to waste money on expensive teas of marginal quality, but you should make every effort to grab the good stuff as it appears...

I'll keep looking for teas that wow me for the money, but I've reached the point where I have years of tea and don't really have to look for purchases anymore. I'll probably start making smaller sample orders every time vendors get new tea and just see what I like

You can't buy wuyi tea that wows you "for the money". At least not if you know what "wow" wuyi tea is. It's usually harder to get the chance to buy such tea than to overpay for the lesser stuff.

The same is becoming true of legit gushu puerh, and legit well stored older tea. If you have the opportunity, pay what you have to pay. If you can't manage at all, then that's okay, but don't think that you're in a position to get good "value for the money". Ain't about "value for the money" at that point.

It sounds like you don't even need to buy any more normal tea anyways.

Exempt wrote: Hopefully in a couple years we'll have another bubble burst. Or it might not be a bubble and good new puerh may start costing dollars per gram. Who knows

For your information, last time when bubbles burst, no good tea dropped price A lot of bad teas dropped prices simply because their previous prices were higher than real. Before, during and after 2007, prices of good teas kept rising, and they've risen much faster after 2007 than before 2007. That being said, if bubble bursting happens and bankruptcy sales carry out, I'm ready to pick up some sale-price pre-2005 xiaguan tuo and mushrooms

Not very active and doesn't have qi. Deep tobacco flavor with slight bitterness and long aftertaste. If this tea was $25 I would buy 4 or 5 but it isn't worth more than a cake at it's current price

Hm, actually, I think it can be pretty excellent. What you describe sounds like an issue with storage and/or water. This particular cake is heavily dependent on the used water, unfortunately.

I bought it some years ago because it was Pasha and when it arrived, it was a bit disappointing, too "closed into itself", I could seldom make it to my contentment. After two years of home storage, it opened up very nicely and with the right water (tap water, actually), it is really rather excellent at $50. I wish I had bought more than two tongs when it was cheaper.

But I admit, it is not always easy/possible to prepare it "right", whatever that is. It also happened to me a couple of times, at the beginning, that it was not strong enough, only tobacco and some bitterness.

In a good session (which happens to me basically all the time now), it has honey, stone fruit (remotely like Banzhang), plenty of aftertaste, good mouthfeel and decent amount of qi.

The sample I had from Kunming recently was not really that awesome, I guess that different storage place might be a good idea.

I have not tasted the Haiwan cake mentioned above nor do I know of it's storage, but if it's 2006 and it's semi-decent, 50 bucks a cake is pretty cheap bubble or no bubble. I mean 50 bucks will buy you 150g? of mid grade gaoshan?

I'm just a little crazy to try others, since we got all of just three YQH in the US. And only one is truly top stuff, when the other two are flawed but good. Not that I could ever afford buying samples or cakes.

2006 and 2007 Mengla teas are just beginning to slide past baby stage at my place, but I wonder, what character are you looking for, or looking for to go away with your 2007 sample?

I'm always reluctant to break into my one cake of the 2004, but I think one challenge of evaluating the 2004 is just how early it is for GFZ teas, or other Mansa teas like Dingjiazhai/Zhangjiawan teas, and so there aren't really other benchmarks available to compare with. I had thought that the 2004 is rather light for a yiwu, especially since I was mislead by the character of the 2006 and 2007 Chen Zhitong GFZ, which I now realize isn't that characteristic of GFZ. However, drinking younger GFZ, like the EoT from 2011 seems to match my memories of the 2004 tea.

SilentChaos wrote:2007? I've got a sample of that right next to me. Too Young. I'll have to drink my 04 YQH again to see how that is.

Have you tried the 1999 YQH bricks that where pressed in 07?They where available awhile back on Taobao but I couldn't work up the nerve to buy one. They had 1 kilo and 500 gram bricks and a 250 gram tuo.

The 2004 is good but very light. I think that it will be a good tea to blend with in the future.